78-621: The U.S. Army Sniper Course trains selected military members assigned to sniper positions in the skills necessary to deliver long-range precision fire and the collection of battlefield information. Students will receive training in fieldcraft skills, advanced camouflage techniques, concealed movement, target detection, range estimation, terrain utilization, intelligence preparation of the battlefield (IPB), relevant reporting procedures, sniper tactics, advanced marksmanship , and staff subjects ( intelligence , mission, training, combat orders, command and control , and training management). Although
156-657: A charter dating from 1466. During the American Civil War , Confederate marksmen equipped with the imported Whitworth rifles were known as the Whitworth Sharpshooters . Snipers are also called "hunters" in many languages, due to the nature of the craft (with the hunting horn also being a symbol of marksmanship), being called caçadores , chasseurs and Jäger . Other words for sniper include franc-tireur , tireur d'élite and atirador de escol . Completely different and peculiar
234-603: A disregard for their own safety and to lack of tactical experience would frequently remain in a concealed position and fight until they ran out of ammunition or were killed or wounded. While this tactic generally ended in the demise of the sniper, giving rise to the nickname "Suicide Boys" that was given to those soldiers, this irrational behavior proved quite disruptive to the Allied forces' progress. After World War II, many elements of German sniper training and doctrine were copied by other countries. Anti-access From Misplaced Pages,
312-403: A first class of only six, in time he was able to lecture to large numbers of soldiers from different Allied nations, proudly proclaiming in a letter that his school was turning out snipers at three times the rate of any such other school in the world. He also devised a metal-armoured double loophole that would protect the sniper observer from enemy fire. The front loophole was fixed, but the rear
390-1088: A hit at a distance of 3,540 m (3,871 yd). In November 2009, Craig Harrison , a Corporal of Horse (CoH) in the Blues and Royals RHG/D of the British Army struck two Taliban machine gunners consecutively south of Musa Qala in Helmand Province in Afghanistan at a range of 2,475 m (2,707 yd) or 1.54 miles using a L115A3 Long Range Rifle . The QTU Lapua external ballistics software, using continuous doppler drag coefficient (C d ) data provided by Lapua, predicts that such shots traveling 2,475 m (2,707 yd) would likely have struck their targets after nearly 6.0 seconds of flight time, having lost 93% of their kinetic energy, retaining 255 m/s (840 ft/s) of their original 936 m/s (3,070 ft/s) velocity, and having dropped 121.39 m (398 ft 3 in) or 2.8° from
468-647: A life." Police snipers typically operate at much shorter ranges than military snipers, generally under 100 meters (109 yd) and sometimes even less than 50 meters (55 yd). Both types of snipers do make difficult shots under pressure, and often perform one-shot kills. Police units that are unequipped for tactical operations may rely on a specialized SWAT team, which may have a dedicated sniper. Some police sniper operations begin with military assistance. Police snipers placed in vantage points, such as high buildings, can provide security for events. In one high-profile incident commonly referred to as "The Shot Seen Around
546-545: A long-range weapon and a rapid-firing shorter-ranged weapon in case of close quarter combat . The German doctrine of largely independent snipers and emphasis on concealment, developed during the Second World War, has been most influential on modern sniper tactics, and is currently used throughout Western militaries (examples are specialized camouflage clothing, concealment in terrain and emphasis on coup d'œil ). Sniper rifles are classified as crew-served in
624-405: A military sniper, who operates as part of a larger army, engaged in warfare. Sometimes as part of a SWAT team, police snipers are deployed alongside negotiators and an assault team trained for close quarters combat . As policemen, they are trained to shoot only as a last resort, when there is a direct threat to life; the police sharpshooter has a well-known rule: "Be prepared to take a life to save
702-599: A mountainous battlefield. The first woman graduated from the school in 2021. The term "Scout Sniper" is only used officially by the Marine Corps, but it does not imply a differing mission from the U.S. Army Sniper. An Army Sniper's primary mission is to support combat operations by delivering precise long-range fire on selected targets. By this, the sniper creates casualties among enemy troops, slows enemy movement, frightens enemy soldiers, lowers morale, and adds confusion to their operations. The sniper's secondary mission
780-675: A requirement for loopholes both for discharging firearms and for observation. Often a steel plate was used with a "key hole", which had a rotating piece to cover the loophole when not in use. Soon the British army began to train their own snipers in specialized sniper schools. Major Hesketh Hesketh-Prichard was given formal permission to begin sniper training in 1915, and founded the First Army School of Sniping, Observation, and Scouting at Linghem in France in 1916. Starting with
858-522: A seating ring to improve the already high ballistic coefficient of .584 (G1) further. For aiming optics German snipers used the Zeiss Zielvier 4x (ZF39) telescopic sight which had bullet drop compensation in 50 m increments for ranges from 100 m up to 800 m or in some variations from 100 m up to 1000 m or 1200 m. There were ZF42, Zielfernrohr 43 (ZF 4), Zeiss Zielsechs 6x, Zeiss Zielacht 8x and other telescopic sights by various manufacturers like
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#1732798282694936-419: A special unit of marksmen. Subsequently raised as the " Experimental Corps of Riflemen ", they were armed with the formidable Baker rifle rather than the inaccurate smoothbore muskets used by most troops at that time. Through the combination of a leather wad and tight grooves on the inside of the barrel (rifling), this weapon was far more accurate, though slower to load. On 25 August 1800, three companies, under
1014-615: A variety of special operation techniques: detection, stalking, target range estimation methods, camouflage , tracking , bushcraft , field craft , infiltration , special reconnaissance and observation , surveillance and target acquisition . Snipers need to have complete control of their bodies and senses in order to be effective. They also need to have the skill set to use data from their scope and monitors to adjust their aim to hit targets that are extremely far away. In training, snipers are given charts that they're drilled on to ensure they can make last-minute calculations when they are in
1092-420: Is collecting and reporting battlefield information, Section 1.1 FM 23-10 Sniper Training. The Marine Corps consolidates the reconnaissance and sniper duties into a single Marine, while many other conventional armed forces, including the U.S. Army, more frequently separate the reconnaissance scout position or billet from that of the sniper . In the U.S. Army, the 19D military occupation code , " Cavalry Scout "
1170-479: Is credited with 505 confirmed kills, most with the Finnish version of the iron-sighted bolt-action Mosin–Nagant. The most successful German sniper was Matthäus Hetzenauer with 345 confirmed kills. In Germany, confirmed kills are only valid in the presence of an officer, so Hetzenauer's estimated kills are many times higher. His longest confirmed kill was reported at 1,100 meters (1,200 yards). Hetzenauer received
1248-922: Is still made by modern authors regarding the subject. The main sniper rifles used during the First World War were the German Mauser Gewehr 98 ; the British Pattern 1914 Enfield and Lee–Enfield SMLE Mk III, the Canadian Ross rifle , the American M1903 Springfield , the Italian M1891 Carcano , and the Russian M1891 Mosin–Nagant . During the interbellum , most nations dropped their specialized sniper units, notably
1326-739: Is the Italian term cecchino [tʃekˈkiːno] , in common use since First World War. The term cecchino is derived from Cecco (Beppe), familiarly and mockingly referring to the Austro-Hungarian Emperor Franz Joseph I (in Italian Francesco Giuseppe I; Cecco and Beppe are nicknames for Francesco and Giuseppe respectively). Different countries use different military doctrines regarding snipers in military units , settings, and tactics . A sniper's primary function in modern warfare
1404-561: Is the primary special reconnaissance and surveillance soldier and the term "Infantry Scout" refers to a specially trained infantrymen that functions in a reconnaissance and surveillance capacity, while "Sniper" refers to a specially selected and trained soldier that primarily functions as a sniper. However, both cavalry scouts and infantry scouts can attend the Army's sniper school, gain the sniper skill qualifier, and serve simultaneously as scouts and snipers. More than 300 soldiers each year begin
1482-803: Is to stay concealed at all times and avoid detection. Then from long range, to provide detailed surveillance from a concealed position and, if necessary, to reduce the enemy's combat ability by neutralizing high-value targets (especially officers and other key personnel ), and in the process, cause disruption, pinning down and demoralizing the enemy . Typical sniper missions include managing intelligence information they gather during reconnaissance , target acquisition and impact feedback for air strikes and artillery , assisting employed combat force with accurate fire support and counter-sniper tactics , killing enemy commanders , selecting targets of opportunity, and even destruction of military equipment , which tend to require use of anti-materiel rifles in
1560-497: The Highland Clearances ; the mass eviction of Stewart clansmen and their replacement by members of Clan Campbell . Hunting terminology was quickly adapted to warfare by British soldiers. In a 1772 letter, a soldier described enemies firing very accurately: … in erecting our batteries, the people frequently play tricks, by putting a hat with a cockade in it on a spunge staff, which the enemy fire at and often hit, to
1638-752: The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 17 April 1945. One of the best known battles involving snipers, and the battle that made the Germans reinstate their specialized sniper training, was the Battle of Stalingrad . Their defensive position inside a city filled with rubble meant that Soviet snipers were able to inflict significant casualties on the Wehrmacht troops. Because of the nature of fighting in city rubble, snipers were very hard to spot and seriously dented
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#17327982826941716-706: The Lee–Metford rifle, while the Boers had received the latest Mauser rifles from Germany. In the open terrain of South Africa the marksmen were a crucial component to the outcome of the battle. The first British sniper unit began life as the Lovat Scouts , a Scottish Highland regiment formed in 1899, that earned high praise during the Second Boer War (1899–1902). The unit was formed by Lord Lovat and reported to an American, Major Frederick Russell Burnham ,
1794-669: The United States military . A sniper team (or sniper cell ) consists of a combination of at least one primary weapon operator, (i.e.: the shooter), with other support personnel and force protection elements, such as a spotter or a flanker . Within the Table of Organization and Equipment for both the United States Army and Marine Corps , the shooter does not operate alone, but has a backup shooter trained to fulfill multiple roles in addition to being sniper-qualified in
1872-523: The article wizard to submit a draft for review, or request a new article . Search for " Anti-access " in existing articles. Look for pages within Misplaced Pages that link to this title . Other reasons this message may be displayed: If a page was recently created here, it may not be visible yet because of a delay in updating the database; wait a few minutes or try the purge function . Titles on Misplaced Pages are case sensitive except for
1950-728: The morale of the German attackers. The best known of these snipers was probably Vasily Zaytsev , featured in the novel War of the Rats and the subsequent film Enemy at the Gates . German Scharfschützen were prepared before the war, equipped with Karabiner 98 and later Gewehr 43 rifles, but there were often not enough of these weapons available, and as such some were armed with captured scoped Mosin–Nagant 1891/30, SVT, Czech Mauser rifles or scoped Gewehr 98 from WW1. The Wehrmacht re-established its sniper training in 1942, drastically increasing
2028-547: The required leads for moving targets. It is not unusual for the spotter to be equipped with a ballistic table , a notebook or a tablet computer specifically for performing these calculations. Law enforcement snipers , commonly called police snipers, and military snipers differ in many ways, including their areas of operation and tactics. A police sharpshooter is part of a police operation and usually takes part in relatively short missions. Police forces typically deploy such sharpshooters in hostage scenarios. This differs from
2106-493: The 15th century. Small companies of shooters ( Schützenfähnlein ) from the German states and Swiss cantons would form teams of Scharfschützen for such popular competitions; proudly carrying flags depicting a crossbow on one side and a target musket on the other. The earliest known date for the creation of a shooting club formed specifically for the use of firearms comes from Lucerne , Switzerland, where one club has
2184-536: The 1820s. The term sniper was first attested militarily in 1824, becoming commonplace in the First World War . The older term sharpshooter comes from the calque of German word Scharfschütze , in use by British newspapers as early as 1801. The word alludes to good marksmanship, itself descendent of the shooting competitions ( Schützenfeste ) that took place throughout the year in Munich in
2262-483: The 18th century, letters sent home by English officers in India referred to a day's rough shooting as "going sniping", as it took a skilled flintlock sportsman a lot of patience and endurance to wing-shoot a snipe in flight. Accomplishing such a shot was regarded as exceptional. During the late 18th century, the term snipe shooting was simplified to sniping . This evolved to the agent noun sniper , first appearing by
2340-658: The 7 week course, Soldiers will receive training in the application of fieldcraft; advanced camouflage techniques, concealed movement, target detection, range estimation, and terrain utilization (Macro and Micro), intelligence preparation of the battlefield (IPB), relevant reporting procedures, sniper tactics, advanced marksmanship; known and unknown distance firing, at stationary and moving targets during daylight and limited visibility in varying weather conditions, and staff subjects (intelligence, mission, training, combat orders, command and control, and training management) to ensure mission accomplishment without compromise in accordance with
2418-648: The Ajack 4x, Hensoldt Dialytan 4x and Kahles Heliavier 4x with similar features employed on German sniper rifles. Several different mountings produced by various manufacturers were used for mounting aiming optics to the rifles. In February 1945 the Zielgerät 1229 active infrared aiming device was issued for night sniping with the StG 44 assault rifle. A total of 428,335 individuals received Red Army sniper training, including Soviet and non-Soviet partisans, with 9,534 receiving
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2496-502: The British Army Chief of Scouts under Lord Roberts . Burnham fittingly described these scouts as "half wolf and half jackrabbit.". Just like their Boer scout opponents, these scouts were well practised in the arts of marksmanship, field craft , map reading, observation, and military tactics. They were skilled woodsmen and practitioners of discretion: "He who shoots and runs away, lives to shoot another day." They were also
2574-523: The Eastern Front, the German army was forced to rely more heavily on enlisting teenage soldiers. Due to lack of training in more complex group tactics, and thanks to rifle training provided by the Hitlerjugend , those soldiers were often used as autonomous left-behind snipers. While an experienced sniper would take a few lethal shots and retreat to a safer position, those young boys, due both to
2652-478: The French and British believed such hits to be coincidental hits, until the German scoped rifles were discovered. During World War I, the German army received a reputation for the deadliness and efficiency of its snipers, partly because of the high-quality lenses that German industry could manufacture. During the First World War, the static movement of trench warfare and a need for protection from snipers created
2730-601: The German Scharfschütze. Scouts in the Ashanti army were made up of professional hunters who used their skill as marksmen to snipe at advancing enemy forces in response to detection by the enemy. They executed this often from a perch high in trees. The Whitworth rifle was arguably the first long-range sniper rifle in the world. A muzzleloader designed by Sir Joseph Whitworth , a prominent British engineer, it used polygonal rifling instead, which meant that
2808-700: The Germans. Effectiveness and dangers of snipers once again came to the fore during the Spanish Civil War . The only nation that had specially trained sniper units during the 1930s was the Soviet Union . Soviet snipers were trained in their skills as marksmen, in using the terrain to hide themselves from the enemy and the ability to work alongside regular forces. This made the Soviet sniper training focus more on "normal" combat situations than those of other nations. Snipers reappeared as important factors on
2886-631: The US Army began centralized training in-country. The 9th Infantry Division established one of the first in-country Sniper Schools. The course, run by Major Willis Powell, lasted 18 days with the failure rate being 50%. In December 1968, a full complement of seventy-two snipers were ready for action. The US Army Sniper School was established in 1987, at the Infantry Center at Fort Moore (renamed from Fort Benning), GA, and continues to produce top-notch snipers today. Its continuous existence reflects
2964-542: The US Army set up an advanced marksmanship course at Camp Perry, Ohio , the Army had no official sniper course during World War II . Between wars, the United States Marine Corps sustained limited sniper training but not enough to compete with other countries during WWII. During the Korean War , Snipers were used during the first recapture of Inchon , Seoul , and the Battle of Chosin . When
3042-663: The US did not extend sniper training beyond long-range shooting was the limited deployment of US soldiers until the Normandy Invasion . During the campaigns in North Africa and Italy , most fighting occurred in arid and mountainous regions where the potential for concealment was limited, in contrast to Western and Central Europe. The U.S. Army's lack of familiarity with sniping tactics proved disastrous in Normandy and
3120-490: The US, UK and other countries that adopt their military doctrine are typically deployed in two-man sniper teams consisting of a shooter and a spotter . A common practice is for a shooter and a spotter to take turns to avoid eye fatigue . In most recent combat operations occurring in large densely populated towns, such as Fallujah, Iraq , two teams would be deployed together to increase their security and effectiveness in an urban environment. A sniper team would be armed with
3198-514: The United States Armed Forces, sniper training was only very elementary and was mainly concerned with being able to hit targets over long distances. Snipers were required to be able to hit a body over 400 meters away, and a head over 200 meters away. There was almost no instruction in blending into the environment. Sniper training varied from place to place, resulting in wide variation in the qualities of snipers. The main reason
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3276-517: The World" due to going viral online, Mike Plumb, a SWAT sniper in Columbus, Ohio , prevented a suicide by shooting a revolver out of the individual's hand, leaving him unharmed. The need for specialized training for police sharpshooters was made apparent in 1972 during the Munich massacre when the German police could not deploy specialized personnel or equipment during the standoff at the airport in
3354-494: The battlefield from the first campaign of World War II . During Germany's 1940 campaigns , lone, well-hidden French and British snipers were able to halt the German advance for a considerable amount of time. For example, during the pursuit to Dunkirk , British snipers were able to significantly delay the German infantry's advance. This prompted the British once again to increase training of specialized sniper units. Apart from marksmanship, British snipers were trained to blend in with
3432-650: The battlefield that day. At the Battles of Saratoga , Morgan's Riflemen hid in the trees and used early model rifles to shoot senior British officers. Most notably, Timothy Murphy shot and killed General Simon Fraser of Balnain on 7 October 1777 at a distance of about 400 yards. In early 1800, Colonel Coote Manningham and Lieutenant-Colonel the Hon. William Stewart of the British Army proposed using what they had learned while leading light infantry to establish
3510-527: The campaign in Western Europe where they encountered well trained German snipers. In Normandy, German snipers remained hidden in the dense vegetation and were able to encircle American units, firing at them from all sides. The American and British forces were surprised by how near the German snipers could approach in safety and attack them, as well as by their ability to hit targets at up to 1,000m. A notable mistake made by inexperienced American soldiers
3588-458: The closing phase of the crisis, and consequently all of the Israeli hostages were killed. While the German army did have snipers in 1972, the use of army snipers in the scenario was impossible due to the German constitution 's explicit prohibition of the use of the military in domestic matters. This lack of trained snipers who could be used in civilian roles was later addressed with the founding of
3666-706: The command of Stewart, spearheaded an amphibious landing at Ferrol , Spain. The term, "sharp shooter" was in use in British newspapers as early as 1801. In the Edinburgh Advertiser , 23 June 1801, can be found the following quote in a piece about the North British Militia; "This Regiment has several Field Pieces, and two companies of Sharp Shooters, which are very necessary in the modern Stile of War". The term appears even earlier, around 1781, in Continental Europe, translated from
3744-492: The diversion of the soldiery, who humorously call it sniping, and watch the flash to return the fire. On 11 September 1777, during the Battle of Brandywine , British Captain Patrick Ferguson had a tall, distinguished American officer in his rifle's iron sights. Ferguson did not take the shot, as he considered shooting anyone in the back dishonourable. Only later, did Ferguson learn that George Washington had been on
3822-456: The dummy by enemy sniper bullets then could be used for triangulation purposes to determine the position of the enemy sniper, who could then be attacked with artillery fire. He developed many of the modern techniques in sniping, including the use of spotting scopes and working in pairs, and using Kim's Game to train observational skills. In 1920, he wrote his account of his war time activities in his book Sniping in France , to which reference
3900-643: The enemy. The top sniper of Korea was Sgt Boindot from the U.S. Army with 70 confirmed kills. After the Korean War, the U.S. sniper program was again discontinued. During 1955–1956, the Army Marksmanship Training Unit operated the first US Army Sniper School at Camp Perry, Ohio. A lack of understanding and appreciation for the effectiveness and potential that snipers could add to the fight, caused sniper training to be abandoned after this short training period. In Vietnam, by July 1968,
3978-463: The environment, often by using special camouflage clothing for concealment. However, because the British Army offered sniper training exclusively to officers and non-commissioned officers , the resulting small number of trained snipers in combat units considerably reduced their overall effectiveness. During the Winter War , Finnish snipers took a heavy toll of the invading Red Army . Simo Häyhä
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#17327982826944056-416: The environmental conditions were perfect for long range shooting, "... no wind, mild weather, clear visibility." In a BBC interview, Harrison reported it took about nine shots for him and his spotter to initially range the target successfully. Before the development of rifling , firearms were smoothbore and inaccurate over long distance. Barrel rifling was invented at the end of the fifteenth century, but
4134-476: The field. The name sniper comes from the verb to snipe , which originated in the 1770s among soldiers in British India in reference to shooting snipes , a wader that was considered an extremely challenging game bird for hunters due to its alertness, camouflaging color and erratic flight behavior. Snipe hunters therefore needed to be stealthy in addition to being good trackers and marksmen. In
4212-575: The first known military unit to wear a ghillie suit . Hesketh Hesketh-Prichard said of them that "keener men never lived", and that "Burnham was the greatest scout of our time." Burnham distinguished himself in wars in South Africa, Rhodesia, and in Arizona fighting the Apaches, and his definitive work, Scouting on Two Continents, provides a dramatic and enlightening picture of what a sniper
4290-410: The following on-site (average) atmospheric conditions: barometric pressure: 1,019 hPa (30.1 inHg) at sea-level equivalent or 899 hPa (26.5 inHg) on-site, humidity: 25.9%, and temperature: 15 °C (59 °F) in the region for November 2009, resulting in an air density ρ = 1.0854 kg/m at the 1,043 m (3,422 ft) elevation of Musa Qala. Harrison mentions in reports that
4368-899: The 💕 Look for Anti-access on one of Misplaced Pages's sister projects : [REDACTED] Wiktionary (dictionary) [REDACTED] Wikibooks (textbooks) [REDACTED] Wikiquote (quotations) [REDACTED] Wikisource (library) [REDACTED] Wikiversity (learning resources) [REDACTED] Commons (media) [REDACTED] Wikivoyage (travel guide) [REDACTED] Wikinews (news source) [REDACTED] Wikidata (linked database) [REDACTED] Wikispecies (species directory) Misplaced Pages does not have an article with this exact name. Please search for Anti-access in Misplaced Pages to check for alternative titles or spellings. You need to log in or create an account and be autoconfirmed to create new articles. Alternatively, you can use
4446-764: The ground in anti-access/area denial environments. After graduating the basic course, US Army Snipers are given the opportunity to obtain a variety of other courses to further refine their skills. Sniper A sniper is a military or paramilitary marksman who engages targets from positions of concealment or at distances exceeding the target's detection capabilities. Snipers generally have specialized training and are equipped with telescopic sights. Modern snipers use high-precision rifles and high-magnification optics . They often also serve as scouts / observers feeding tactical information back to their units or command headquarters. In addition to long-range and high-grade marksmanship, military snipers are trained in
4524-465: The larger calibers such as the .50 BMG , like the Barrett M82 , McMillan Tac-50 , and Denel NTW-20 . Soviet - and Russian-derived military doctrines include squad-level snipers. Snipers have increasingly been demonstrated as useful by US and UK forces in the recent Iraq campaign in a fire support role to cover the movement of infantry, especially in urban areas. Military snipers from
4602-506: The longest sniper training course in the history of the US Army and is a testament to the high priority sniper training now enjoys among the Army's leadership. Following the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center buildings, the U.S. military entered into combat operations in Afghanistan under Operation Enduring Freedom. Snipers proved themselves as an invaluable asset due to their ability to engage targets at great distances in
4680-487: The number of snipers per unit with the creation of an additional 31 sniper training companies by 1944. German snipers were at the time the only snipers in the world issued with purpose-manufactured sniping ammunition, known as the 'effect-firing' sS round. The 'effect-firing' sS round featured an extra carefully measured propellant charge and seated a heavy 12.8 gram (198 gr) full-metal-jacketed boat-tail projectile of match-grade build quality, lacking usual features such as
4758-442: The operation of the main weapon. The shooter focuses mainly on firing the shot, while the spotter assists in observation of targets, accounts for atmospheric conditions and handles ancillary tasks as immediate security of their location, communication with other parties (e.g. directing artillery fire and close air support ). A flanker is an extra teammate who is tasked to act as a sentry observing areas not immediately visible to
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#17327982826944836-564: The original bore line. Due to the extreme distances and travel time involved, even a light cross-breeze of 2.7 m/s (6.0 mph) would have diverted such shots 9.2 m (360 in) off target, which would have required compensation. The calculation assumes a flat-fire scenario (a situation where the shooting and target positions are at equal elevation), using British military custom high-pressure .338 Lapua Magnum cartridges, loaded with 16.2 g (250 gr) Lapua LockBase B408 bullets, fired at 936 m/s (3,071 ft/s) muzzle velocity under
4914-527: The projectile did not have to bite into grooves as was done with conventional rifling. The Whitworth rifle was far more accurate than the Pattern 1853 Enfield , which had shown some weaknesses during the recent Crimean War . At trials in 1857 which tested the accuracy and range of both weapons, Whitworth's design outperformed the Enfield at a rate of about three to one. The Whitworth rifle was capable of hitting
4992-406: The seven-week U.S. Army Sniper School at Fort Moore, Georgia. Army snipers face demanding missions and often operate with little or no support, and the training at Fort Moore tests their ability to work in isolation and under pressure. The Army Sniper Course trains selected individuals in the skills necessary to deliver long range precision fire and the collection of battlefield information. During
5070-448: The shooter, as well as assessing the outcome of the shot. Using a spotting scope and/or a rangefinder , the spotter will predict the external ballistics and read the wind speed using an anemometer or physical indicators like the mirage caused by ground heat. Also, in conjunction with the shooter, the spotter will calculate the distance, shooting angle ( slant range ), mil -related correction, interference by atmospheric factors and
5148-401: The sniper and spotter, assisting with the team's rear security and perimeter defense , and therefore are usually armed with a faster-firing weapon such as an assault rifle , battle rifle or designated marksman rifle . Both the spotter and flanker carry additional ammunition and associated equipment. The spotter is responsible for detecting, identifying and assigning priority of targets for
5226-507: The sniping 'higher qualification'. During World War ІІ, two six-month training courses for women alone trained nearly 55,000 snipers, of which more than two thousand later served in the army. On average there was at least one sniper in an infantry platoon and one in every reconnaissance platoon, including in tank and even artillery units. Some used the PTRD anti-tank rifle with an adapted scope as an early example of an anti-materiel rifle. In
5304-706: The specialized police counter-terrorist unit GSG 9 . The longest confirmed sniper kill in combat was achieved by an undisclosed member of the Security Service of Ukraine in November 2023, hitting a Russian soldier at a distance of 3,800 m (4,156 yd) during the Russian invasion of Ukraine . The previous record holder was a member of the Canadian JTF2 special forces who in June 2017 achieved
5382-427: The supported unit commander's intent in all operational venues. The US Army's Maneuver Center of Excellence has released an updated Training Circular 3-22.10, Sniper, dated December 2017. The sniper training circular has been completely revised and updated in various topics to include; sniper planning, employment, field craft, marksmanship, ballistic programs, and complex engagements. The intent of this training circular
5460-523: The target at a range of 2,000 yards, whereas the Enfield could only manage it at 1,400 yards. During the Crimean War, the first optical sights were designed to fit onto rifles. Much of this pioneering work was the brainchild of Colonel D. Davidson, using optical sights produced by Chance Brothers of Birmingham . This allowed a marksman to observe and target objects more accurately at a greater distance than ever before. The telescopic sight, or scope,
5538-538: The war went into its static period in 1951 the Army and Marines as in World War I and WW II were deadly, especially during this static defense period of the war. .50 caliber weapons with scopes were also used for sniping purposes by the U.S. The favorite was a M2 .50 caliber machine gun with a target scope attached; due to the weight, this system was not mobile. Major advances were implemented in sniper tactical mission planning, information gathering, harassing and delaying
5616-552: Was at the time and how he operated. After the war, this regiment went on to formally become the first official sniper unit, then better known as sharpshooters . During World War I , snipers appeared as deadly sharpshooters in the trenches. At the start of the war, only Imperial Germany had troops that were issued scoped sniper rifles. Although sharpshooters existed on all sides, the Germans specially equipped some of their soldiers with scoped rifles that could pick off enemy soldiers showing their heads out of their trench. At first
5694-486: Was during the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House , where on 9 May 1864, Union General John Sedgwick was killed by a Confederate Whitworth sharpshooter at a range of about 1,000 yards (910 meters) after saying the enemy "couldn't hit an elephant at this distance". During the Boer War the latest breech-loading rifled guns with magazines and smokeless powder were used by both sides. The British were equipped with
5772-451: Was housed in a metal shutter sliding in grooves. Only when the two loopholes were lined up—a one-to-twenty chance—could an enemy shoot between them. Another innovation was the use of a dummy head to find the location of an enemy sniper. The papier-mâché figures were painted to resemble soldiers to draw sniper fire. Some were equipped with rubber surgical tubing so the dummy could "smoke" a cigarette and thus appear realistic. Holes punched in
5850-655: Was only employed in large cannons. Over time, rifling, along with other gunnery advances, has increased the performance of modern firearms. Marksmanship (later "sharpshooting" or "sniping") occurred as early as the mid-eighteenth century. For instance, in the 1752 Appin Murder , Colin Roy Campbell of Glenure was shot in the back near Duror by an unknown sniper, most likely from within Clan Stewart of Appin , in retaliation for Campbell's role in an early version of
5928-718: Was originally fixed and could not be adjusted, which therefore limited its range. Despite its success at the trials, the rifle was not adopted by the British Army. However, the Whitworth Rifle Company was able to sell the weapon to the French army , and also to the Confederacy during the American Civil War, where both the Union and Confederate armies employed sharpshooters. The most notable incident
6006-611: Was to create uniformity within the sniper community, and to align sniper training and employment with current U.S. Army doctrine. In 2018, the United States Army Sniper Course changed their course Program of Instruction (POI) to focus on how the sniper can be utilized in large scale, ground combat warfare. After a course revision, the cadre and leadership concluded that Army snipers need to focus on acting as sensors, communicators and human weapons systems, supporting enhanced multi-domain command and control from
6084-450: Was to lie down and wait when targeted by German snipers, allowing the snipers to pick them off one after another. German snipers often infiltrated Allied lines and sometimes when the front-lines moved, they continued to fight from their sniping positions, refusing to surrender until their rations and munitions were exhausted. Those tactics were also a consequence of changes in German enlistment. After several years of war and heavy losses on
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